UK Corporate Affairs leadership is stabilising, but expectations are rising
Turnover across the FTSE 100 has fallen to 16%, yet the UK remains Europe’s most volatile market for Corporate Affairs leaders. The data suggests a recalibration.
The Chief Communications / Corporate Affairs Officer Turnover Study 2026, produced by the Corporate Affairs Search Alliance (CASA) provides a snapshot of how boards are evaluating Corporate Affairs leadership.
The UK edition analyses turnover across the FTSE 100, covering the largest publicly listed companies in the UK.
CASA is a multinational alliance of specialist Corporate Affairs executive search firms operating across Europe and the US.Ithaca Partners is its UK member firm.
Before interrogating the numbers, it is worth clarifying what we mean by Corporate Affairs. Ithaca’s founder, Alex Gordon Shute, called me out on this over breakfast recently.
Definitions vary, but at the enterprise level, the function typically encompasses corporate communications, internal communications and public affairs. In many organisations, it acts as the integrating discipline, aligning reputation, stakeholder relationships, employee engagement and policy positioning with business strategy. In the US, Investor Relations often sits within this portfolio.
That integrated brief provides the lens through which the data should be read.
Turnover across the FTSE 100 fell from 23% in 2024 to 16% in 2025, representing 16 leadership changes. On the surface, that signals stabilisation after a volatile period.
Yet the UK still records the highest turnover rate among the markets measured, ahead of France (10.5%), the DACH region (7%), Ireland (5%) and the US (10%). Five of the ten largest FTSE companies changed Corporate Affairs leadership last year. When movement is concentrated at the top of the index, it reflects sustained board-level scrutiny.
Boards are resetting the brief
The study links the mid-2025 dip in appointments to economic and geopolitical uncertainty, including tariff tensions and rapid AI-driven disruption. In uncertain markets, boards tend to reassess before committing to senior hires. When activity resumed in the autumn, expectations had sharpened.
Search mandates in the second half of the year placed greater emphasis on public affairs and government relations experience. Political literacy and regulatory navigation are increasingly central to the Corporate Affairs portfolio. The role is being evaluated less as a communications function and more as a strategic leadership discipline embedded within enterprise decision-making.
External hiring remains the lever of choice
Of the 15 UK appointments made in 2025, ten were external hires, and five were internal promotions, meaning two-thirds of known appointments came from outside the organisation. Seven of those external hires moved across sectors.
By comparison, 62% of US appointments were internal. The UK, therefore, remains a more fluid market, with boards willing to prioritise transferable leadership capability over sector continuity when they believe performance thresholds have shifted.
Tenure is improving, but exposure remains high
Average UK tenure increased from 3.3 years in 2024 to 3.9 years in 2025. While that marks progress, it remains shorter than France (4.9 years), the DACH region (5.2 years) and the US (4.9 years).
The UK operating environment combines sustained media scrutiny, regulatory activism and political intervention. Exposure at that level naturally shapes leadership stability.
A governance decision hiding in plain sight
A fifth (21%) of FTSE companies either outsource the senior communications function, distribute responsibilities across other roles, or are actively searching, including 19% operating with distributed or outsourced leadership and 2% in open search.
In a climate where political and regulatory risk directly influence enterprise value, the absence of integrated Corporate Affairs leadership at the executive level carries material governance implications. Strategic accountability for stakeholder alignment cannot be separated from board-level oversight.
Women now hold 58% of FTSE 100 Corporate Affairs leadership roles in the UK, up from 52% the previous year, underscoring continued structural change at the executive level.
What this means for practitioners
Board scrutiny remains high. External mobility continues to reward demonstrable strategic capability. The Corporate Affairs brief is broadening, particularly in policy and government engagement.
The UK market may be stabilising numerically, but expectations are rising structurally. Corporate Affairs is being integrated more deeply into enterprise strategy, and leaders are being assessed accordingly.
The modern Corporate Affairs leader is no longer simply a communications specialist. They are a portfolio director who possess deep communications expertise.
Further reading
This article was originally posted on my Substack. The Wadds Inc. newsletter is read by more than 5,000 communications and public relations practitioners. We take a slower, critical perspective on the research, evidence and developments shaping the field.
